New To Sikhism, I Have Questions

[Ishna]

cheerleader

Hi Bunky ji

Definition of enlightenment
I am sorry, I think "enlightenment" is probably the wrong term. "God Realization" would be more appropriate. I'm starting to get myself into the deep end of the swimming pool without my floaties! haha

I don't know too much about enlightenment in Hinduism or Buddhism, so someone else might like to fill in the gaps for me on this one, but I don't think the Sikh concept is the same as Hindu or Buddhist concepts.

Sikhi stresses being involved in the material world, but not being attached to it. It lays importance on having a family, earning an honesty living, working hard, being involved in the world, but knowing at the same time that the material world is passing away, and that ultimately you will die and leave it all behind - so do your best while you're here, filled with awe and humility before the vast expanse of the Universe whose limits we can't even imagine, cultivate love for the Timeless Creative Force, try to tune in to where It's going, see It in everything, and find peace in knowing when you die you'll go back into the creative soup mix.

Sikh Gurus realised this and tried to explain the folly of getting tangled up in man-made, egotistical constructs. They tried to remove the veil of illusion which covers most people's minds to show them the basic truth that "God" is everywhere and creation is a manifestation of It. So be nice to your neighbour, be a good human being and stand up for justice.

Sikh Gurus didn't use vast amounts of meditation and solitude to reach Nirvana, or become enlightened and disappear to a higher plane. They saw through their ego and saw the God-force which is Real instead of the mirage our egos tell us is "reality".

This is what I've learned so far, anyway. I'm not too good at trying to explain it, sorry!

You might like to check out this link, which is to Part 1 of a great series by a white British man who went to India for the British government and eventually became a Sikh before he passed away:

The Sikh religion, volume 1 / Max Arthur MacAuliffe

This will give you an idea of the social climate in India at the time of Guru Nanak and show you how Guru Nanak tried to explain the illusions he saw and share Truth with the people.

Jyot
I'm not sure if someone's jyot could be the same as the jyot of our Gurus. Good question.

Some Sikhs will say Guru Nanak "passed his jyot" to Guru Angad, his successor, who passed it to Guru Amardas, and so on until it went into Guru Granth Sahib Ji. In that way you could interpret it as there was only one jyot which was that special and there aren't any others. I'm not sure.

As a Sikh it doesn't really matter to me, because I trust the ten Gurus and Guru Granth Sahib Ji and Waheguru to guide me in the right direction.

Some might say the Dalai Lama has a strong jyot too. I'm not sure how it would compare (if it's possible to compare) with Sikh Gurus. This discussion could probably be a thread on its own!

But the key element I think is that, for Sikhs, the Gurus are our spiritual teachers so we try to assimilate their teachings.

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I understand you don't want to share too much about yourself online - fair enough! You might like to check out this thread for some other good resources about Sikhi.

Also, you can read Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji online here: www.srigranth.org . I read bits and pieces about Sikhi in the beginning, but it was when I started reading SGGS that I got REALLY interested.

 

[Randip Singh]

So would I be frowned upon?

My Ms's does not intend to convert.

The question is whether you are willing to get married.

Just as when you take the formal symbols of a Sikh and declare to Society and the world, look, here I am, I am Sikh, I am not hiding from anyone, in this same way actions like marriage will be seen like this. As as Sikh, you will recognise that your duty to family, yourself and society, and declare that you as man and woman are joined at a spiritual level.

As a Sikh, if you remain unmarried, and have children out of the formal declaration of Anand Karaj (Marriage) then it maybe a problem.

Incidently, the spiritual Union of souls is seen as far more important than the piece of paper to show you are married.

 

[Randip Singh]

I'm interested in the spiritual aspect. I would however like to fit in and not antisocial.

In Sikhism, the Spiritual and Temporal sit side by side.

The concept is called Miri-Piri.

One is directly related to the other.

What we do in the Temporal side has a direct consequence on the Spiritual side.

 

[Bunky]

.... As as Sikh, you will recognise that your duty to family, yourself and society, and declare that you as man and woman are joined at a spiritual level.

As a Sikh, if you remain unmarried, and have children out of the formal declaration of Anand Karaj (Marriage) then it maybe a problem.

Can you rephrase the first paragraph here, i'm not sure if I understand what your communicating.

As for the second paragraph, what would be the problem.

Thanks

 

[Ishna]

I've started a more in depth thread about "converts" with diverse backgrounds here.

 

[Ishna]

Having had my little rant in the new thread, I will say that having a non-Sikh relationship and environment around you can make things very challenging for you spiritually and personally the further along the path you go.

I think having a Sikh partner would be ideal, and I sometimes wish I'd become a Sikh before I became a wife! I feel guilty that the person my husband married is now very different, and I worry he feels let down because the manicured gardens have become the jungles of Congo, if you know what I mean. lol

But it can also be difficult when you consider things like:

• Your own funeral service - you're probably going to want a Sikh cremation, how is your non-Sikh (or even Sikh-oblivious) family going to feel about that?
• You want to get married but you partner doesn't. You're going to feel weird about that the more Sikh you become.
• Your children's up-bringing, if you see good Sikh principles you want to pass on to your children, that might get complicated if your partner disagrees. But let me tell you, when you find one of those perfect gems of Sikh wisdom, you very nearly burst to tell the world about it, and the first thing you want to do is show it to your children (I do, anyway, and when I try to share it with my atheist step-children, I am laughed at... which I find upsetting because I care about them)
• Basic things like getting up eaaaarly in the morning -- you know how hard that is when the rest of the house is asleep? You don't want to wake them up, you don't want to annoy them, so you whisper your bani when you're so overjoyed with it you just want to get into it
• Changes in your personal appearance -- you're a guy, if you start keeping your kesh you can't shave, you grown your hair long, you start wearing a turban. How will your family feel about that? My husband doesn't like turbans, which is easy for me as a female to get around, but I have a painting on the wall of a beautiful Singhni in a white dastaar and I wonder how I'm going to get there from here. Then I feel guilty again thta my husband married a hairless agnostic and now has a hairly possibly turban-wearing wife on his hands.

There are other examples, but you get the idea. It's not an easy road to go down, personally.

My experiences with Sikhs in real life is they have been accepting of me and my situation. It's only on the Internet I've run into problems. Maybe the Sikhs in my city are just really laid-back?

I'd be interested to find out other "converts" stories.

And for the Indian "convert" it might be more complicated.

 

[kds1980]

Having had my little rant in the new thread, I will say that having a non-Sikh relationship and environment around you can make things very challenging for you spiritually and personally the further along the path you go.

I think having a Sikh partner would be ideal, and I sometimes wish I'd become a Sikh before I became a wife! I feel guilty that the person my husband married is now very different, and I worry he feels let down because the manicured gardens have become the jungles of Congo, if you know what I mean. lol

But it can also be difficult when you consider things like:

• Your own funeral service - you're probably going to want a Sikh cremation, how is your non-Sikh (or even Sikh-oblivious) family going to feel about that?
• You want to get married but you partner doesn't. You're going to feel weird about that the more Sikh you become.
• Your children's up-bringing, if you see good Sikh principles you want to pass on to your children, that might get complicated if your partner disagrees. But let me tell you, when you find one of those perfect gems of Sikh wisdom, you very nearly burst to tell the world about it, and the first thing you want to do is show it to your children (I do, anyway, and when I try to share it with my atheist step-children, I am laughed at... which I find upsetting because I care about them)
• Basic things like getting up eaaaarly in the morning -- you know how hard that is when the rest of the house is asleep? You don't want to wake them up, you don't want to annoy them, so you whisper your bani when you're so overjoyed with it you just want to get into it
• Changes in your personal appearance -- you're a guy, if you start keeping your kesh you can't shave, you grown your hair long, you start wearing a turban. How will your family feel about that? My husband doesn't like turbans, which is easy for me as a female to get around, but I have a painting on the wall of a beautiful Singhni in a white dastaar and I wonder how I'm going to get there from here. Then I feel guilty again thta my husband married a hairless agnostic and now has a hairly possibly turban-wearing wife on his hands.

There are other examples, but you get the idea. It's not an easy road to go down, personally.

My experiences with Sikhs in real life is they have been accepting of me and my situation. It's only on the Internet I've run into problems. Maybe the Sikhs in my city are just really laid-back?

I'd be interested to find out other "converts" stories.

And for the Indian "convert" it might be more complicated.

Ishna ji

You are still lucky so that your Atheist husband allow you to practice Sikhism.
if you have been married to Hindu or muslim he may not allow you practice Sikhism

This is the reason that all practical people give advice to born Sikh Girls to marry Sikh men even if they are not practicing sikhism at present because there may be a day in their when they want to practice it but their Hindu or muslim husbands will not allow them to do it

 

[TKaurG]

Hi
I know it seems hard but I don't think you should let the thought of the Sikh community not accepting you get in the way of your religious choice..all of us are judged at one point or other by any given community we reside in..I know it's easier said than done, but I'm sure if you stay true and strong in what you believe, no one will be able to pass a judgment about you and even if they do it will be insignificant because in Sikhism the final judgement of god is what is ultimately important..because how long will people talk? Eventually they'll move on to something else.

Anyways I wish you and your family best of luck for any decision you make peacesignkaur

 

[Ishna]

kds1980, yes, I guess I am lucky in that regard.

I have a female friend whose husband is Hindu and from what I understand there is pressure on her from him and his family to continue with certain Hindu practices (not eating certain foods on certain days, praying to certain gods at certain times), yet they will not attend Gurdwara with her. It must be very challenging for her, I think.